


Kaleidoscope

by Calamity_Hero_Awakens



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Gender Identity, Genderfluid Character, I Just Wanted To Write About Gender, I Should Have Included Cuccos, Legend of Zelda References, Link is chill, Nonbinary Character, Out of Character, Trans Female Character, Visual Disorders, happy times only
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22545877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calamity_Hero_Awakens/pseuds/Calamity_Hero_Awakens
Summary: He always thought it was normal but after researching, Link learned that only one percent of the world’s population sees the world the way he does. In his eyes, all people have the same skin colour: soft pink. So why are Sheik, Zelda, and himself different?
Kudos: 19





	Kaleidoscope

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: You have a rare optical condition that literally makes you see people in one specific colour, but every time you look in the mirror, you are a new shade of colour you’ve never seen before. Then you realize it’s because you’re genderfluid.
> 
> Modern AU  
> Sheik is nonbinary and Zelda is transgender (they're separate people).  
> Link isn't mute because... Because. And he has parents?? In this??

Link had been told that people have plain skin. There are people whose skin is the colour of a peach, there’s skin that’s a dark tan, there’s even skin that’s brown or the colour of milk chocolate. The thing is, he'd never seen it. It’s not that he's never seen people; he's seen thousands. But he has a rare visual disorder called Optical Pigmentation Distortion Disorder.

When Link was young, he used to colour people’s skin light pink. His teachers would always correct him the first few times but eventually, he would get in trouble. It wasn’t until his second year of middle school that his parents decided he needed more than a simple routine eye exam. Sure enough, he was diagnosed with OPDD.

The only time Link can see skin in the correct colour is in drawings and paintings. People in real life, photos, and videos all have the same skin colour: soft pink. He always thought it was normal but after researching, he learned that only one percent of the world’s population sees the world the way he does. That’s a little over seventy million people. The one difference between him and all the others is his own skin colour.

▼▲▼

“When was the last time you left the house?” Sheik inquired, eyes scanning Link's room which was unusually clean. In all honesty, it had been almost a week since he’d gone anywhere.

“This morning,” he dismissively replied as he turned on his TV and grabbed the remotes for his Nintendo Switch.

“Link, taking care of plants doesn’t count.”

“Why not? They’re outside of the house. Well, some of them are.” As he turned on the system, he could feel Sheik’s stare drilling into the side of his head.

“Look, Sheik. I’m tired of my eyes lying to me. Every time I look at a person, every time I look at you. Pink, blue, green, yellow. I’m tired of it.”

“Whoa, wait. I thought it was just pink.” Sheik stated, confusion clear in their voice.

“Well…” Link paused to start the game before continuing. “It’s not. I don’t want to talk about it right now, okay?”

▼▲▼

“We got you something!” Zelda exclaimed, her eyes bright, a smile stretched across her face, her lavender skin-

 _Stop,_ Link scolded himself. _For once, just enjoy yourself and stop thinking about skin colours._

“What’d ya get me?” Link asked, closing the door behind Zelda and Sheik. Zelda gave him a teasing smile.

“Hold out your hands and close your eyes and you will get a big surprise.” Link rolled his eyes before holding his hands out in front of him and closing his eyes. He felt something be placed in them but continued to wait for permission to look.

They must have realized he was waiting because finally, Sheik said, “Just look, dipstick.”

Cracking his eyes open, Link saw something green in his hands. Opening his eyes, his vision focused on the object.

“Do you like her?” Zelda asked as Link stared at the small cactus in the pot. “You should give her a name!” she happily exclaimed, taking the plant from Link and heading into the kitchen to water it.

"How do you know she's a girl?" Link jokingly asked.

"I just do," Zelda called. "Now just name her."

“Uhm, how about Navi?” Link suggested, liking the name already.

“What kind of name is Navi?” Sheik asked.

“What kind of name is Sheik?” Link retorted, causing them to stick out their tongue.

“I like it!” Zelda exclaimed, emerging from the kitchen, potted plant in hand. “Now where do you want me to stick her?” she asked, her question followed by a small giggle. If there was one thing Link couldn’t get enough of, it was her positivity.

“I’ll put her in the window in my room,” Link answered, taking the new plant from her and heading up the stairs. He didn’t need to hear them to know that they were following him.

After setting the plant in his window beside the other plants that were beginning to crowd the space, Link plopped down in one of his chairs. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sheik take the other chair and Zelda spread out on the bean bag.

“Link, I can tell something’s bothering you. You’re being awfully quiet, even for you.” Though Link didn’t look at her, he could tell Zelda was staring at him intently. “Do you feel alright?”

“What colour is your skin?” Link asked as he looked up, letting his obsession get the better of him. It wasn’t an odd question. He had asked both of them this question more than once.

“A light cream colour. Or pink. Why?” Zelda didn’t seem to be confused by the question. Rather, she seemed to be confused by why he had asked yet again.

Link stared at her intently for a moment before replying. “It’s not pink.”

“But I thought everyone’s skin was-"

“It was!” Link yelled, angry at himself once more. Thankfully, she seemed to realize that his frustration was directed at himself and not her. “But it’s not! Everyone is pink! But not everyone is!”

“Link, calm down. Just tell us what you’re talking about.” As always, Sheik was the level-headed one. Taking a deep breath, Link let out a long sigh.

“Everyone’s skin is pink. But it’s not everyone, just… almost everyone.” He could tell the question was coming so he answered it without the prompt. “You’re not,” Link said, looking at Zelda. “And you’re not,” he said as he directed his attention to Sheik.

Link thought that their questions would be uncomfortable, but their silence was even worse. “Well, say something,” he pleaded, his voice portraying a fraction of the panic welling up inside him.

“Link,” Zelda finally said, “Do you think it could have something to do with the fact that we’re not… like everyone else?”

“Yeah. You said that everyone is pink but maybe we’re different because, well, we’re different.”

Link knew that they were different from a lot of the other people he saw on a daily basis. Zelda was transgender and Sheik was non-binary. But why would that affect his vision? Did his eyes just not know how to process this? Was it normal?

“Okay,” Link said slowly. “Then what about me?”

▼▲▼

“I thought you’d like to read this,” Link's mom said as she handed him something wrapped up inside a plastic bag. Unwrapping the bag from the item, he revealed a book.

“ _The Broken Colour Kaleidoscope_? Mom, seriously? I’m not broken.” Her light pink face went even lighter and her shoulders tensed.

“I’m not saying you’re broken, sweetie. I just thought…You’d… It’s written by someone with OPDD. I thought it could bring you some insight into what you’re dealing with.”

Link knew she was trying so hard so he swallowed his unspoken remark and gave her the best fake smile he could muster. “Thanks mom. I’ll start it when we get home, okay?” She visibly relaxed and a smile appeared on her face.

▼▲▼

Little did he know, his dad had bought his own copy of the book. A lot of it, he read to his spouse. Honestly, it was quite amusing. After dinner, Link and his father would sit together in Link's room and read silently. Neither of them liked reading aloud and connecting was difficult for both of them.

“What chapter are you on?” Link's father asked as Link turned the page.

After finishing the sentence, Link had to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to remind himself. “Four. You?”

“Five,” his dad replied as he focused back on the book. As Link returned his focus to the words on the page, the one who had given him life decided to interrupt his reading once again. “So, this is all true?”

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Link responded with, “Yes, dad.”

“And you see like this every time you look at a person?”

“Yeah.”

“Even drawings or video games?” Though Link was annoyed that he couldn’t continue reading, he was grateful his father was actually taking an interest in something that mattered to him.

“Drawings, paintings, and video games are different. It only applies to real people in-person, in actual photographs, or in videos. So I can-”

“So people in movies are…”

“Pink.”

“Right, pink. But people in animated movies aren’t. Right?”

“Right. Which is actually helpful sometimes? Because it’ll go from a real person preparing to fight to a CGI person fighting and I always can tell the difference. Their skin changes from pink to normal and then back to pink.”

Link's dad sat silently, listening to his son's words and soaking up the information provided. He honestly seemed to be amazed by what Link said but Link guessed that was to be expected. Normal people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, would they?

“So, you’re like my little superhero,” his father finally said, and if Link wasn’t mistaken, he seemed a little proud.

“Yeah, I mean, if that’s how you want to look at it.” For the next half hour, they continued reading in silence until Link's dad finally stuck his bookmark in the pages and closed the cover. Lifting himself out of the chair, he lumbered towards the door but stopped with his hand on the knob.

“Ya know, I’m sorry we didn’t listen to you. When you were younger? I guess we just thought you were making it up. That’s no excuse though.”

Link could tell it was uncomfortable for him to express this so he just nodded and said, “It’s fine dad.” Nodding, his dad opened the door and disappeared down the hall for the night.

▼▲▼

“I like plants. Plants aren’t supposed to be a certain colour and they don’t make fun of you for getting it wrong. They’re just cool to do their own thing and be whatever colour they want.”

“Is that why you talk to them more than us?” Zelda teased.

“They’re also easier to talk to,” Link added as he watered his vines hanging from the back porch. He could practically hear the eye roll from Sheik and was about to continue when Zelda decided she wouldn’t allow it.

“So I think I figured out why you’re not pink.” With anyone else this would have been an odd thing to say. Unfortunately, for Link, it wasn’t.

“And why is that?”

“Link, hear me out. So maybe, you’re not who you think you are?” Link tossed her a doubtful look and she was quick to defend herself. “Just hear me out! So we know that I’m a different colour because I’m trans.”

“You’re lavender,” Link quickly added before she could cut him off.

“And Sheik’s a different colour because they’re non-binary.”

“They’re orange and yellow.”

“Cool! I’m two colours!” Sheik exclaimed, earning an annoyed look from Zelda as she was interrupted. Clearing her throat to convey her annoyance, she continued.

“So if gender is the deciding role, maybe that’s why you’re a different colour. What if you’re not a guy?”

“So you’re saying I’m not a guy.”

“Well, maybe not completely. Perhaps you’re more than just a guy? Uhm… Sheik, help me out.”

“She thinks you’re gender fluid,” Sheik coolly said as they took a sip of their drink and stared out across the yard.

Link wasn’t offended by the proposal, especially since he’d had the thought himself. But he also wasn’t wholly convinced that was the reason. Zelda seemed to sense his doubt.

“I mean, if you think I’m wrong then correct me. But maybe that’s what it is. You just haven’t realized it yet.” Running his fingers over the waxy leaf hanging from the vine above him, Link stared out across the yard. Deep down, he knew she was right; he just wasn’t ready to admit to himself that this was the case.

“So? Give me some feedback. Your silence is always concerning.”

Gently stroking the leaf, Link let the silence linger a bit longer before finally saying, “Why do you have to be right all the time?”

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this last July and just now decided to publish it. So, whoo hoo.
> 
> Feedback is appreciated as well as kudos ~\\\\\3\\\\\~


End file.
